Silence
by PANDA Qiao
Summary: Ino x Shikamaru. 'You're not fat.' Silence. 'Yes I am-' 'Anorexia is not the answer.' Silence again. '...how did you know...' Silence once more. It was deafening. ShikaIno oneshot.


Hihi, people!

This is my first ShikaIno fic, so please be nice!

Lately, I've began to really really *really* like ShikaIno, possibly more than NejiTen! *Gasp!* I really don't like ShikaTema. I really really don't like it. I don't even like Temari by herself.

Sorry Temari fans!

This idea popped into my head when I was eating dinner (I eat _a lot,_ by the way :P), and my mum suggested I ate less, hence the thought of anorexia coming to mind. But I won't become anorexic; I love my food too much ;).

Anyway, enough with the talking, on to the story! But seriously, I need to stop writing so many one-shots…..

I present to you; _Silence._

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><p>If you asked any man around Konoha if they knew Ino Yamanaka, the answer would be a yes. If you asked any man around Konoha if she was pretty, the answer would still be a yes. If you asked any man around Konoha if they thought Ino Yamanaka was happy, then the answer would be a definite, definite yes.<p>

If they considered eating disorders and self-harm acts of happiness, then they had most certainly hit the jackpot.

But she seemed happy, right?

Sure, she seemed happy enough when she was out with a new love interest every single week, but what they don't know is that it was all just a façade. The real reason why she flung herself onto a new guy every so often was to keep her mind off…

_Him._

The one man she'd only truly love.

Her first few dates had been purely experimental, making sure the lazy ninja would catch her pecking guys on the lips, flirting heavily with older men and sometimes bringing in mild touching if necessary.

But all her efforts had gone to waste because he didn't care. Not only was he not affected in the slightest way, he had started to withdraw from her. Avoiding eye contact and exchanging as little words as possible.

Which lead on the depression and suicidal thoughts.

Her love interests were just methods to get rid of the thoughts of him. Besides, he had Temari now, right?

* * *

><p>Ino gingerly stepped into the restaurant, the sights and smells of the food instantly tickled her senses as she made her way over to a crowded table.<p>

'Hey, Ino-pig! It's about time you got here!' Sakura rose up from her seat next to Hinata and waved a little too enthusiastically for Ino's liking.

Every turned around to face her direction except for a certain pony-tailed ninja.

Ino had no other choice but to force a sickly sweet smile on her face. The feeling of smiling felt almost new to her; but instead of a warm feeling rising inside of her, her hairs pricked up and the smile vanished.

'Come sit here next to me, Ino!'

Ino looked at the person who offered to sit next to her – it was Tenten. She was just about to accept when she realised that if she did sit there, Shikamaru would be on her other side.

_Oh god._

But before she could refuse and point out that she could sit next to Lee or someone, (yes, she was that desperate), Naruto suddenly piped up.

'Yeah! Yeah! Sit next to Shikamaru, Ino! We know you both love each other! Kissey-kisse-AHHH!'

Naruto was cut off by an annoyed Kiba strangling him. 'Shut up, idiot.'

Everyone around the table burst into giggles except for Shikamaru and Ino. Ino tried to fight back a drop of hope after replaying what Naruto had just said.

_Naruto said that we both love each other. Does that mean Shikamaru…?_

Ino mentally slapped herself for fantasying too much.

_Ino. Stop being so pathetic. Go sit next to him. What's the big deal?_

Ino gathered up all the courage she could, despite her increasing heart rate, and managed to muster a decent smile.

'Thanks, Tenten,' she muttered as she started to make her way over.

Shikamaru secretly eyed Ino as she began to approach him, registering the fact that she'd gotten a lot thinner in the past few weeks. Thin enough so see her delicate bones poke through her pale white skin. Instead of enjoying the fact that she wore a short dress showing a lot of flesh tonight, he became very concerned and exceptionally worried.

'Troublesome,' he muttered, passing her a bowl of rice.

The blonde looked surprised at the exchange of contact, and looked down at the chipped table. She managed to murmur a quiet thank you before pulling the bowl of rice towards her petite frame.

This seemed to satisfy Shikamaru, as he resumed to eating his own food.

But over hours he couldn't help but notice that her food lay untouched.

* * *

><p>'Excuse me'.<p>

Everyone looked up for the source of the voice.

'I'm just going to get some fresh air.'

They all nodded and resumed back to what they were doing before after finding out it was nothing serious.

Ino's small figure ambled through the busy tables, earning a look or two from a decent amount of men. Shikamaru quietly growled at them as she proceeded to leave the restaurant.

The lazy genius sighed before getting up too. Making his way out of the restaurant, the rest of the table gave each other knowing looks.

The air outside was fresh and cool. The breeze messed up Ino's silky blonde hair, but she didn't mind at all.

She was perched on the side of a running fountain, brushing her fragile hand back and forth across the water, creating delicate little ripples. Watching them dance in complicated directions, she sighed to herself; a tear or two leaking out of her pale eyes.

'You look troubled.'

Ino quickly wiped the tears on her face before standing up abruptly.

'I'm going back in-'

'You're not fat.'

Silence.

'Yes I am-'

'Anorexia is not the answer.'

Silence again.

'….how did you know?'

Silence once more.

'…don't think I don't care about you. Believe me, I care the most.'

The silence was deafening. Her ears couldn't take it anymore.

'Idiot! If you did care, would I still be starving myself?' she screeched whilst a new batch of tears started streaming down her stepped forward, eyeing her intently.

'Excuse me?'

'I'm doing this to impress-'

'A guy?' his voice cracked.

Silence enveloped them once more. Ino's eyes averted to the ground, her frown lines slightly visible. Shikamaru took this as a yes.

'What's he like?' the pain in his voice was apparent.

Ino's head shot up.

_It's now or never, Ino!_

Her conscience was right. It was about time to let out her inner frustration.

'I love the way he makes me smile,' she began.

Just the thought of Shikamaru made Ino smile a genuine smile. Shikamaru noticed this and clenched his teeth. _This better not just be a crush on one of those silly litte civilian boys, _he thought.

'I love the way he knows my weaknesses.'

Shikamaru thought about Ino's weaknesses. She didn't have many, so to find out you had to be exceptionally close to her. _It couldn't be Chouji, could it? _Ino and Chouji were like siblings. It just wouldn't be right.

'I love the way he makes me feel safe.' Ino was beginning to break now. Her voice was pained and cracking every so often; but that wasn't enough to stop her.

'I love the way he talks, walks…'

She brought her bony knees up to her chest, resting her damp face on them. Her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.

But she still had so much more to say.

'I-I…I love the way…the way he calls-calls me troublesome...'

She was now biting her lips to keep the sobs from gushing out.

Suddenly it all hit him. She'd been starving herself to impress _him. _

Her sobs were getting heavier and heavier. 'I love…I-I love…' she couldn't continue.

'Ino…' he whispered edging closer to the girl and squatting down in front of her. 'Ino, calm down…'

Instead of calming down, Ino lurched forward and grabbed onto him for dear life. Shikamaru held her tightly, ignoring the fact that his outfit was getting wet and soaked in her tears.

'Ino…' he mumbled. 'Stop worrying over nothing.'

Ino continued to sob and the tears kept on coming like there was no tomorrow.

'But you like Temari….' She muttered, shifting uncomfortably in his hold. 'I don't want to be second best…'

He automatically lifted her delicate face with the tip of his finger; cradling her underweight body in his hands as her kissed her. Shocked, Ino kissed him back, savouring every second.

'I love you.'

Those three words were enough to shut her up.

Once again, they were enclosed in silence.

But this time, it was a good kind of silence.

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><p><strong>FIN.<strong>

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><p>I hope you liked it, R and R please! :P<p> 


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